A caregiver has been charged for physically abusing a patient in a Des Moines home.

A caregiver has been charged for physically abusing a patient in a Des Moines home.

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Updated: 6:09 PM CDT Sep 15, 2015

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WEBVTT CALLING THIS A VERY SERIOUS CRIME, BUT SONGOL IS SAYING HE WAS JUST TRYING TO PROTECT HIMSELF. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE INNOCENT? YES. THIS CAREGIVER IS ALREADY SAYING HIS ARREST HAS GONE TOO FAR. WHEN HE SLAPPED ME, I PUSHED HIM. NOT DENYING, BUT SAYING IT WAS AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENSE. THEY JUST ATTACK YOU. WHEN I'VE IS TRYING TO DEFEND MYSELF, THAT IS WHEN HE MOVED BACKWARDS. POLICE TELL US THAT BENJAMIN SONGOL WAS ARRESTED FROM HIS HOME THIS EVENING. THE LEGAL GUARDIAN SAYS THAT SONG GOAL -- SONGOL WAS THERE TO CARE FOR HER 20-YEAR-OLD NEPHEW. THEY PUT UP VIDEO CAMERAS THAT SHOWED HIM SLAPPING AND SHOVING HIM AROUND. THEY TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO SET UP VIDEO SURVEILLANCE WHICH RECORDED SOME EVIDENCE. SONGOL ONLY ADMITS TO SHOVING HIM WHEN THE PATIENT WOULD LET GO OF HIS ARM. THE VICTIM IS NONVERBAL AND REQUIRES 24-HOUR CARE. WE HAVE A VICTIM WHO IS TRULY HELPLESS AND CANNOT COMMUNICATE WHAT IS GOING ON. SONGOL WORKS FOR THE HOMESTEAD. EXECUTIVES DENIED AN ON CAMERA INTERVIEW BUT DID PROVIDE US WITH A STATEMENT. IT SAYS THEY ARE TAKING THE ACCUSATION SERIOUSLY.

Caregiver charged for abuse: ‘I was trying to defend myself’

A caregiver has been charged for physically abusing a patient in a Des Moines home.